


What Makes Us Human

by Callisto_HK



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-28 21:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7658296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callisto_HK/pseuds/Callisto_HK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They say, everyone makes mistakes and that's one of the things that makes us human; we just should learn from them and never make the same mistake twice... It really was a mistake; an accident... An error of judgment. Gibbs didn't mean it... He didn't deserve such a severe punishment. /Set in season 10. Rated T for Language and a few other things!/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was one of those days when you hate even opening your eyes, let alone getting out of your warm cozy bed and going to work. One of those days when you aren't the only one feeling rotten; when your boss feels exactly the same way and maybe even worse.  
  
But then again, Gibbs hadn't been in the mood for the last couple of weeks now; Tony had even started to think about adding a third 'b' to his surname; because as surly as Gibbs could be on a normal day, he'd rarely get this grouchy.  
  
Tony supposed it was because of the time of the year; _'but Shannon and Kelly's anniversary was around last week; Gibbs' bad mood should've disappeared by now.'_ An inner voice had argued.  
  
But anyway, Gibbs wasn't in the mood; Tony wasn't in the mood and they had a gory case to work on. Put all those things together and you'd know why everybody was trying to avoid the MCRT's area and why every member of the MCRT, including Abby and Ducky, where either snappy or frustrated.  
  
Gibbs would snap at anyone, he wasn't really one to hold back, but Tony was his usual target and if you didn't know better, you'd think that Tony had done something wrong to bring out the worst in Gibbs.  
  
By the end of the day, even though they'd successfully closed the case, everyone looked even more on edge.  
  
Tim and Ziva were sending angry glares Tony's way, blaming him for Gibbs' bad mood and Tony wasn't feeling like arguing with them. He just wanted to get the hell out of there, crawl into his bed and sleep for the rest of his life... Or the rest of the night; whatever.  
  
When he finally finished writing his report and made sure that everything related to their case was rightly done, he gathered his stuff and realized for the first time that he was alone in the bullpen; Ziva and McGee had apparently left a while back, judging by how cool their computers felt to the touch and Gibbs... Well, he hadn't seen Gibbs for hours.  
  
He was just about to leave when he heard Abby striding into the bullpen, "What did you do this time, Tony?" She asked petulantly.  
  
"What?" Tony blinked, truly confused about what Abby was talking about.  
  
"You must've done something, Tony. Gibbs is unbearable and for me to say that means it's terrible, because he's never moody when it comes to me; he's always sweet, and the past couple of days he's been... Well, he's been driving me crazy with his growls and glares. It's not like him to treat me like this."  
  
"Why do you all think it's me? Maybe _you_ 've done something." Tony looked indignant; Abby's word had hurt.  
  
"Me?" Abby crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Oh, please! Gibbs never gets mad at me, he _loves_ me. Besides no one can irritate Gibbs like you can. Well, you and Vance and some few others! But not any of us."  
  
"So I'm not one of _you_ anymore, huh? I'm somewhere down there with Vance and those who Gibbs barely tolerates? Nice to know you think so highly of me." He growled under his breath as he shouldered his backpack and started for the elevator.  
  
Abby's eyes widened. "Tony, I-"  
  
"Don't worry, I'll talk to him; will make sure that he doesn't treat any one of _you_ like dirt and would unload all his anger on me. You know, since you all are always innocent and I'm such an immature stupid jerk." That was Tony's last words before the elevator doors closed.  
  
"I didn't mean it that way." She whispered in the empty bullpen, only then realizing how her words had hurt her friend.  
  
...  
  
The drive to Gibbs's place was short and that wasn't good, because it meant that Tony hadn't had enough time to calm his nerves; if he had, he'd have bought a Pizza and beers before storming into his boss' place like an angry, injured animal; he'd have tried to talk to Gibbs to figure out what was bothering him before talking about his own frustration.  
  
But no, the drive hadn't lasted long enough; so, Tony stormed into Gibbs' house and went straight to the basement. Not bothering to descend all the stairs, he stopped halfway down and locked his gaze with Gibbs'. "I don't know what you think I've done this time, and honestly, I don't care, at this point; because I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything; but do me a favor and just redirect your anger at me, huh? Leave the others alone. I've got enough on my plate; don't need everyone else's accusations and on top of your grumpiness and everything else."  
  
And with that, he turned on his heels and walked up the stairs, leaving a confused and irritated Gibbs alone.  
  
Gibbs didn't like being ordered around and he sure didn't like not having the chance to talk back; so, he stormed out of the basement to catch Tony just when he was about to leave the house.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you, DiNozzo?" He grabbed Tony by his arm and turned him around forcefully. "You think you can waltz into my place and yell at me and then walk out?"  
  
"What the hell is wrong with _me_? Have you seen yourself?" Tony growled and pulled his arm out from Gibbs' grasp.  
  
Taken aback by the anger in Tony's eyes, Gibbs momentarily forgot his own irritation and narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. Everything is just peachy."  
  
Gibbs didn't move from his place. "Try again."  
  
"Nothing that concerns _you_. I'm doing my job just fine; the way you expect it from me and then some and yet you seem to think that I'm doing a poor job and keep treating me like crap. So leave it."  
  
"DiNozzo-"  
  
"Nothing is wrong Gibbs, I'm just tired."  
  
"Tired of us?" He fired at the younger man.  
  
"Tired of being second-guessed. Tired of being treated like dirt; tired of being mocked and disrespected. Tired of being accused; of being everyone's whipping boy. Tired of being the doormat. You want more? I'm too old for this shit. One would think I've had enough of it with my father and wouldn't deserve more. Universe has an ironic view of things." With that he turned around and left the house, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Gibbs stared at the closed door for a minute or two and then turned around and walked back to his basement. He wasn't sure why he'd been so frustrated recently; he just didn't feel like snapping out of his bad mood. And had it been any other day, he'd stop to think about Tony's words; would even try to find out why his loyal Senior Field Agent didn't have his usual carefree mask on and why he was showing his frustration so openly.  
  
But it wasn't any other day; therefore, he just grabbed his tools and got back to work, trying to forget Tony's last words about being so tired.  
  
Couple of hours later, when he was about to hit the sack, his phone started to ring. Cursing under his breath, he grabbed it, knowing that they probably had another case. And he'd been right; Tony was on the phone, telling him, with an icy voice, about their case and before hanging up abruptly, he'd let him know that he'd inform the others as well.  
  
Half an hour later, they were all at the scene, doing their jobs and avoiding each other. No one liked late night cases and when Tony was quiet, moody and not ready to cheer them up at his own expense, they got grumpier.  
  
The case wasn't an easy one and they so didn't need that in that state of mind and sure not after their last case. But it was their job and they all knew that some days were worse than the others.  
  
Tony was the first one to snap out of his bad mood, knowing that he needed to make sure that his teammates weren't in any greater danger than usual just because they were tired and frustrated.  
  
Once again, he decided to hide his own feelings and lighten the mood. He was avoiding the lab, though; not ready to let go of his hurt feelings and disappointment at Abby's words, but he'd tried to look less sullen and had even managed to make McGee and Ziva laugh.  
  
Things were getting better until they went to look for a suspect and ended up with Tony sprawled on his back, blinking his eyes sluggishly, trying to focus on Ziva who was hovering over him.  
  
"You alright, Tony?" Tim asked, and Tony realized that Ziva wasn't the only one hovering. _Damn, that only meant that their suspect had escaped_.  
  
"What just happened?" He pushed himself up.  
  
Ziva and Tim helped him to his feet as McGee answered. "We got the wrong guy. Once you walked to this corner, someone hit you in the head with a piece of wood and ran away."  
  
"I tried to catch him." Ziva said ruefully, "But he was too fast and I was too far behind."  
  
"You didn't lose consciousness, but you might still have a concussion." Tim said, assessing the back of Tony's head.  
  
Tony's head was killing him, but he could say that there wasn't any blood involved. "I'm good. Did any of you see his face?"  
  
"I did," Ziva answered. "We can look for him in our files once we get back."  
  
Tony nodded and realized his mistake a second too late when his headache intensified, "Dammit." He massaged his temple. "Well, let's get back to the yard, then."  
  
"You sure? You might need someone to check you for a concussion." A third voice said.  
  
Tony turned around to find their suspect standing there, looking at them with worried eyes. _'Had he been there the whole time?'_ Tony didn't know.  
  
"I've had worse." He brushed the man's concern aside. "No double vision; no nausea and no dizziness. I'm good to go, but we need you to come with us to clear a few things."  
  
"Yes, he has a thick head." Ziva smirked.  
  
"Hard head." Tony growled before walking away, Ziva and McGee on his tail, escorting the man to their car, all while smirking at Tony and his luck. "Man, I'm glad I wasn't the one walking ahead." Tim snickered first but suddenly stopped and groaned, "Oh, God. Now Gibbs will be even worse."  
  
"Well, then don't tell him." Tony growled angrily, remembering Gibbs and his grumpiness which had worsened after their last night's ' _talk_ '. Groaning, he closed his eyes, thanking God that at least Ziva wasn't behind the wheel.  
  
Their prime suspect, Mr. Shore, now seemed to be innocent; of course they'd found another one but they weren't sure if he actually had anything to do with their dead petty officer or not. People tended to bolt and run when they heard the word ' _cops_ ' or well, ' _federal agents_ ' in their case, even if they were just on drugs. But he'd make sure to get back at this dirtbag for at least the blow he'd received.  
  
Back at the office, it was McGee who'd spilled his guts and told Gibbs everything, including the blow that Tony had received to the head, as soon as the ex-marine had glared at him.  
  
Gibbs being furious with everything and anything, didn't feel like dealing with Tony's whining about not wanting to be poked and prodded and decided to turn a blind eye to it and walk away, instead of insisting that Tony should see Ducky. Tony clearly didn't have any problems walking around and talking, so the blow shouldn't have been that hard. He'd keep an eye on him and if he felt that the younger man was having the slightest problem, he'd send him to see Ducky, no matter how much he whined.  
  
As the day progressed, they sent Mr. Shore home and made sure that he knew he had to call them if he remembered anything else or if his colleague, the one who'd hit Tony, showed up at work, which was highly unlikely to happen.  
  
Around 17.30 hours Gibbs left for another cup of coffee, feeling a headache, from their several days of none-stop working, building behind his eyes. Tony once again had gone quiet, which was probably the reason why David and McGee were back to their annoying angry selves that Tony had managed to get rid of that morning.  
  
Walking back from the coffee shop, Gibbs thought that they all needed a few days off and as soon as the case was closed, he'd send them away for a long weekend off. He just wanted to close this case so they could all be free.  
  
Walking quietly into the bullpen, Gibbs heard Tony growling at Tim, ordering him to shut up and get back to work.  
  
'What the hell was wrong with DiNozzo, anyway? One minute he's his obnoxious self, the next he's annoyed and mad at everyone else.' Not knowing about Tony's killer headache, Gibbs thought angrily as he walked out of his hiding place, aiming for Tony's head to deliver a headslap. He had to order his agent to either start doing something useful or get the hell out of there and let everyone else do their jobs. They didn't need DiNozzo's frustration above everything else.  
  
Fueled by anger, the headslap he delivered was much harder than ever and sent Tony, who was bent over to pick up his pen from the floor, forward, causing him to hit his forehead to the edge of his desk.  
  
Tim winced when he saw this, but a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth; once again he was glad for not being in Tony's shoes.  
  
Gibbs felt bad for fraction of a second but his anger overtook the guilt and he growled angrily at his SFA. He was about to order him to get his head in the game, when he realized that Tony still hadn't gotten back to his chair. Pausing in his track, Gibbs looked past Tony's desk and found the younger man in a heap on the floor, unmoving.  
  
"Dammit." He growled and hurried to his side; instantly regretting the hard slap which had hurt even his own hand.  
  
Turning Tony on his back, he winced inwardly at the sight of blood on his forehead.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
 **... TBC ...**


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh! Shit."

Gibbs heard McGee and looked up to see his white as a sheet face right above his shoulder.

"What the hell are you looking at? Call Ducky." He ordered angrily and turned his attention back to Tony. "DiNozzo, hey, Tony. Open your eyes."

Nothing.

"Come on, DiNozzo, you just want me to break rule number 6 for hitting you too hard? Fine. Sorry. Now open your damn eyes." His gut was churning and it got even worse when Tony stayed unresponsive.

Blood was pouring from Tony's head wound and his pulse was too slow under Gibbs' fingers.

"Jethro?" Ducky's worried voice came from the other side of Tony's desk and he moved aside so the older man could have access to Tony's prone form. "What has happened here?"

"Boss slapped him." Tim answered immediately, and flinched when Gibbs looked at him sharply.

Ducky's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. "Jethro?"

"I didn't mean to hit him this hard, Duck." Gibbs grunted. "And he was bent over and the slap just sent him forward." His voice was laced with remorse and concern. "Why is he not waking up?"

"He's most definitely concussed; we might need to get him to the hospital if I'm not successful in waking him up." Ducky announced when he didn't get any response from Tony despite all his tricks to arouse the fallen man.

"Two blows to the head in one day. That cannot be good." Ziva said distractedly and Gibbs wondered where she'd been earlier and just when she'd come back.

"Two blows?" Ducky frowned. "When did the other one happen? And why do I hear about it just now?"

"Umm, it..." McGee stammered.

"It happened this morning, Ducky." Ziva helped. "We had gone to find a suspect when another man hit Tony in the head with a piece of wood. I think he was still suffering from the headache this afternoon, but he said he was fine."

"Anthony says that all the time; why did you not send him to me, Jethro?" Ducky berated his friend and turned his attention back to his patient who had yet to come around. "Anthony! Now would be a good time for you to wake up, my boy."

Still nothing.

"You know that we have to take you to the hospital if you don't wake up now, don't you, dear lad?"

Everyone waited to see a reaction, but Tony laid there unmoving.

"Dammit, DiNozzo. Open your eyes. We don't have time for this." Gibbs growled.

Ducky sent a reprimanding glare Gibbs' way, but remained silent, knowing that it was Gibbs' way to show his concern or to make his man wake up.

"One of you; call 911. There's no way I can treat him here and with two blows to the head-"

"Three." Gibbs corrected, pointing to the still bleeding wound on Tony's forehead.

"Yes, Three." Ducky nodded remorsefully. "He needs an X-Ray done and of course, medical attention. And he'll need some stitches for that wound. He wouldn't be happy, Jethro, and rightly so."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his eyes. _What had he done?_ Snapping at his agent for not keeping his anger in check, while he had been unable to do so for weeks himself? And hitting him so damn hard... What the hell had gotten into him?

God, he needed a headslap much harder than the one he'd just given Tony. Lord knew the younger man didn't deserve a slap at all, let alone one that hard. Heck, he didn't deserve to be treated the way he'd been by his boss and teammates the last couple of weeks.

Remembering their talk from the other night and the resignation in Tony's voice, he felt even worse for becoming grumpier instead of calmer and more supportive. He needed Tony to wake up, so he could make it up to him.

By the time the paramedics arrived and were about to take his agent away, the whole building had heard the news and many people had gathered to watch the scene, sending fearful glances towards Gibbs.

 _'Great; just great. That's what we all needed.'_ Gibbs thought furiously. Many people saw his slaps as a form of harassment and thought that his team should write him up. But they didn't know him the way his team and especially Tony did. But now, with Tony concussed and unconscious because of one of his slaps, things could get ugly.

"Gibbs, My office. Now." Vance roared from the mezzanine.

"Later. I'm gonna go to the hospital." Gibbs turned his back on him, but was stopped when the director called after him.

"That wasn't a request, Agent Gibbs. My Office. Now." And with that the director turned on his heel and strode towards his office, anger vibrating from his every step.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Gibbs informed Ducky. "Tell him to behave when he wakes up." He called over his shoulder and walked up the stairs; hiding his fear for Tony and his anger at himself and at Vance for keeping him there when he should be with Tony. But then again, he'd brought it on himself. He had himself and only himself to blame for that grim situation.

...

"What the hell, Gibbs?" Vance exploded as soon Gibbs closed the door behind him. "Your headslaps were bad enough, but hitting him into unconsciousness? I don't even know what to say."

"Dammit, Leon, you think I meant it. It was an accident."

"Accident?" Vance's face reddened. "It's called an _'accident'_ when two people collide, not when one hit the other one hard enough for him to end up with a concussion. This could end your career. It'll be a fiasco for the agency. Can't you see how dire the situation is?"

"DiNozzo is my best agent. A damn fine one. I'd never hurt him intentionally." Gibbs bristled. "I don't care about my damn career; I just wanna make sure he's alright. I made a mistake and I'm gonna make sure DiNozzo won't pay for it with his life. Do whatever you like with my file." He turned around to walk out when Vance barked after him.

"What should I say to the SecNav?"

Gibbs shoulder slumped. "Nothing. Words won't reach him that fast. Try to keep it quiet in the office; it really was an accident, Leon. He was bent over and lost his balance when I hit him."

Vance's eyes softened. "What's he done that was so bad?"

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs blinked. "Nothing, it was just me this time. He wasn't even teasing McGee. I was angry for some other reasons." He sounded crestfallen.

"And you took it out on him. Great." Vance took a toothpick from his desk's drawer and put it in his mouth. "Just what we need."

"Keep it quiet. Like I said, I don't care about my career but it could affect DiNozzo, as well. And I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Make sure he wakes up; for some unknown reasons he likes you enough to make sure no harms come your way."

A haunted look filled Gibbs' blue eyes. He just nodded and walked out, thinking that maybe Tony shouldn't have liked him at all and that maybe his trust was misplaced.

Dammit, he'd hurt the only person who'd stayed loyally by his side through everything, taken his anger in stride and had never complained.

What had possessed him to break rule number eight again? ' _Never take anything for granted'_. He kept breaking that rule when it came to Tony.

He just hoped that Tony would be alright, so he could tell him how much he appreciated him and his sacrifices and efforts to keep them all from falling apart.

And, absently, he also wished that for once, he'd stop coming to his senses when it was almost too late.

...

"How's he Duck?" Gibbs asked as soon as he spotted the old ME in the emergency room.

"Jethro." Ducky greeted him instead of answering his question. The look on his face scared Gibbs.

"What's it, Duck?"

"He's still unconscious."

Gibbs' eyes widened. _'Still? No, damn! No! That couldn't be happening just because of a stupid headslap'_

"It's not just because of that slap." Ducky said, as if he was able to see behind Gibbs' masks and knew the real reason of his fear. "Of course you shouldn't have hit him at all when you knew he was already concussed."

"He was concussed?" Gibbs blinked. "He looked fine to me."

Ducky remained silent.

"Will you just tell me what the hell is wrong with him and why he hasn't woken up yet?" He was losing his patience fast.

"The blow to his forehead has led him to unconsciousness but the X-Rays shows some swelling in his brain where he'd been hit earlier this morning. Unfortunately the too hard slap that you've delivered has happened to be to the exact same spot which seems to be the cause of unresponsiveness."

Gibbs' worried frown deepened. "How bad is it?" He asked tersely.

"The doctors hope they can control the swelling with medications, but surgery might be an option if the first way doesn't work."

"Damn. How did we end up here?" Gibbs sank into a chair. "All just because of headslap?"

"I told you, a headslap and a hard blow before that." Ducky sat down. "Anthony is strong, he'll pull through."

"How many more times can he pull through? He's already pulled through too much." Gibbs sighed, sounding totally un-Gibbs-like.

"He's just unconscious. He'll come around when he's ready. This is his body's way to recover." Ducky tried to reassure his friend.

"I really screwed up this time, Duck." He shook his head; his shoulder slumped. "I couldn't keep my temper in check and he took the brunt of it. Last night he came to my place, but unlike every other time, he wasn't there to talk; he was angry."

"And I think he's earned the right to be." Ducky chastised his friend mildly.

"He has." Gibbs closed his eyes. "Well, we argued some more. He said he was tired and I could see it in his eyes, but I don't know why I couldn't calm myself. I let my unreasonable anger cloud my judgment. And once again, he's the one paying the price."

Ducky didn't say anything, believing that sometimes silence was the best answer. Besides, his old friend was carrying enough guilt already.

"Doctor Mallard." A nurse emerged out of a door and walked towards them. "We have Agent DiNozzo settled in his room in ICU. You can visit him now if you want."

"Of course, my dear Melisa, thank you for informing me."

"My pleasure. I talked to his nurse, Renee. She's expecting you." She smiled kindly and walked away.

"Let's go upstairs and see how our young lad is doing; then I have to give Ziva a call. She'll inform everyone else. I managed to convince them to stay at the Yard and work on the case, so you could have one less thing to worry about."

"Thanks, but I have to hand it over to another team. I probably will be suspended with what I did." Gibbs sighed. "No point in keeping them in the office in this situation. They're all tired. Tell them to go home and get some sleep when you call them and make sure they'll all go _home_. I'll tell Vance to pull us off the case, if he hasn't already."

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	3. Chapter 3

Tony hadn't moved a muscle during the whole time that Gibbs was sitting there with him and it had been around 6 or 7 hours. Gibbs hadn't checked the time when he'd started his vigil.

It was against ICU's rules to let more than two people inside at a time, but everyone from the team had showed up to see Tony and had reluctantly left when Ducky forced them. None of them had said a word to Gibbs, not even Abby, but he could see the accusation in their eyes. They were all blaming him for Tony's condition and Gibbs couldn't disagree. He was at fault and he didn't know how he could fix things this time. But he sure as hell, wasn't going to move from his spot until Tony woke up or they kicked him out of there.

One night turned into two and then into three before Tony finally started to stir and true to his word, Gibbs was still there by his bedside.

He had been suspended for two weeks. Vance had said that it wasn't right to let everyone think that it was OK to hit a coworker and walk away; even if you were Leroy Jethro Gibbs, you'd be in trouble for something like that. He, apparently, had also told Ducky that if Gibbs walked away with no punishment or consequence for his action, it'd look like that DiNozzo wasn't an important member of the agency and it didn't matter if he got hurt especially by his superiors. That was totally disrespectful and unfair to Tony and they all knew it; so Gibbs had embraced the suspension with open arms. Vance had added a reprimand to his file, too; but to someone like Gibbs, his file didn't matter at all.

Despite everything, Vance had made sure everyone knew that what had transpired in the bullpen had truly been an accident and that no one was permitted to talk about it or tell the others about that incident. But if Tony didn't feel like being forgiving again, Gibbs'd need to deal with one hell of a mess. Almost everyone knew that things would never go that way and although Gibbs was sure that Tony wouldn't press charges, he didn't care if the younger man did, either. He knew it was Tony's right to be angry and as long as he was going to be alright, Gibbs didn't care about himself or anything that would happen to him.

That was why when Tony started to show some improvements Gibbs was still there and when after a couple of hours he finally woke up, his doctor, and two nurses were by his side while Gibbs stood outside his room, waiting for the doctor to finish his examination.

"Agent DiNozzo, good to see you awake." The doctor smiled. "I'm Doctor Turner and you're in Bethesda. Can you give me your full name?"

Tony blinked several times and frowned. "Antho-" he coughed, not talking for 3 days had made his throat dry and itchy. "Anthony DiNozzo, Jr." He sounded hoarse. "What's going on? Why am I in hospital? And what time is it?" His frown deepened.

The doctor, who was looking at Tony's pupils and was about to use a penlight, frowned and looked up at one of the nurses who was exchanging concerned look with the other nurse.

"Tony... I can call you Tony, right? That's what your friends call you." Turner said and continued when Tony slowly nodded, "Can you tell me if the light hurts your eyes?"

Tony frowned and a millisecond later a look of panic washed over his face. "What light?"

That was all the medical team needed. After checking his pupils and finding them unresponsive they expected this answer, but it was still hard to explain things.

"Tony. Hey, calm down. Calm down." Turner instructed, trying to hold his patient still as Tony's heart rate started to go dangerously up and he struggled to push himself up to a sitting position. "Please, I really don't want to sedate you after being unresponsive for three days."

Tony's body was trembling with fear and shock but the words spoken by the doctors registered and he forced himself to lie still; he really didn't want to be sedated.

The doctor sighed sadly. "You've received a couple of blows to the head some days back and have been unconscious ever since. This blindness could be just temporary and I dare say it is, because we've run many tests and haven't seen any nerve damage. We will run some more tests, now that you're awake. But I need you to calm down, or we'll have to postpone everything."

Tony was too shocked to say anything. His head and throat hurt; his eyes... Well, they were blind, temporary or not and he had just been told that he had been unconscious for three days. What the hell was going on?

Nodding absently, he tried to once again hide his discomfort and fears; even though it was too hard at that moment.

"Good." Turned squeezed his shoulder, "Renee is going to give you some water for your throat. I'm gonna go and set a time for your tests. Alright?"

Tony nodded again, not willing to talk when he wasn't sure he would sound steady.

...

Outside the room, Gibbs was pacing up and down the corridor, waiting anxiously for the doctor to come out, so he could walk in and talk to Tony.

What he hadn't been expecting to see was the grim look on the doctor's face when he finally left the room. Tony had finally regained consciousness, that was good, wasn't it?

"Agent Gibbs. You can go inside, now. Just for a few minutes, before we take Agent DiNozzo for some more tests."

"Is he alright?" Gibbs asked, wanting to know what was the problem.

"Well, he doesn't have amnesia and understands what's happening around him. But-"

"Just say it. What's it?" Gibbs demanded.

"His eyes are unresponsive to light stimulus."

"His-... What?" Gibbs started at the doctor, not sure he'd gotten the meaning behind the other man's words right. "That means... He's-"

"Yes." The doctor nodded, and immediately added, "Could be temporary, though. That's why we need to run more tests; you should go inside and talk to him, though. He's trying to keep up appearances, but this has clearly scared him; he needs your support."

Gibbs merely nodded, but didn't say that now he couldn't go in that room anymore. Not when he had been the one putting his agent there and not when he was the reason that the other man was blind.

Damn, could things get any worse? How had things gotten so out of hand?

It really was a mistake... An accident... An error of judgment. Gibbs didn't mean anything when he'd hit Tony... He wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't deserve a punishment so severe.

How was he supposed to face the other man? How was he supposed to tell him that he was the reason for all this to begin with? A simple 's _orry'_ wouldn't be enough. Nothing would be enough at that point.

No.

He couldn't do that. Tony would probably hate him; there was no point in putting him through more pain by making him stand his boss' presence.

Shaking his head, Gibbs walked away from Tony's room and grabbed his cellphone to call Ducky. He couldn't stay there himself but he wouldn't leave Tony's back unwatched, either.

...

A couple of hours later, Tony finally found himself alone in his room after going through hundreds of tests.

Man, he _really_ hated hospitals. If he wasn't scared shitless, he would've checked himself out as soon as he could.

The doctor had insisted that _'his problem'_ was more than likely temporary but they had yet to come back with his tests' results. Temporary or not, it was scary. What was he supposed to do if he couldn't see a damn thing? His job was his life and without his eyesight it would be over.

Sighing, Tony closed his eyes and massaged his temple with two fingers. He could vaguely remember the events of the last day he'd gone to work. He knew he'd been hit in the head by a suspect, but he couldn't remember another blow and was sure that the doctor had mentioned two blows. What was he missing?

The sound of footsteps entering his room made him turn his head towards the door and frown. That couldn't be Gibbs, he didn't walk like that; there was something different and unique about those footsteps, something peaceful; they sounded heavy... More like... "Ducky?"

The older man smiled despite himself. "My dear boy, you're too sharp. How come you never hear Jethro when he sneaks up on you?"

"Who says I don't?" Tony smiled back.

"Oh." Ducky paused and chuckled when the realization finally hit home. "Nice work keeping up the act. How are you feeling, Anthony?"

Tony sighed. "Could be better, could be worse." There was no point in lying to the old ME.

"I heard about your eyesight. You mustn't give up hope. You still have some swelling in your brain; these things can be tricky and insidious." Ducky soothed.

"Yeah." Tony nodded and turned his head away.

Ducky could see the lines of pain, fear and frustration on his face and wished he could help his young friend in some way.

"How did you know that I've woken up? Did the hospital give you a call?" Tony asked.

"Not exactly." Ducky answered, not sure if it was the right time to talk about Jethro and his stubbornness. He had talked to him, trying to tell him that he was needed in the hospital, more than ever now; he'd even raised his voice, but Gibbs being Gibbs had refused to listen and had very rudely hung up on him.

"Gibbs did, then." Tony concluded. "They told me my boss was outside, but clearly he's left if he hasn't showed up yet. What time is it, Ducky?" Tony asked, trying not to show his disappointment.

"It's 5 in the afternoon, my boy. Maybe you should rest your eyes for a while? You look tired." He said, hoping the younger man would go easier on himself.

"Yeah? Well, apparently that's all _'my eyes'_ are gonna do from now on." He sounded so dejected.

"Now, now. Anthony." Ducky rebuked kindly. "What happened to your resiliency and stubbornness? You don't know anything for sure and you are not allowed to give up now."

Tony sighed and opened his eyes, looking straight ahead, seeing nothing but darkness. "It's-" he paused and decided to let the subject drop. "I can't remember how I ended up here. Can you fill me in?"

Ducky's eyes widened. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't possibly tell the story without making it sound like it was Gibbs' fault that Tony was in that situation, and well, that really _was_ Gibbs' fault to some degree; but the old doctor didn't want to upset Tony any further.

"Ducky?" Tony frowned and turned his head towards the place he'd last heard the ME's voice; his gaze came to a stop above the man's head, fraction of a second later.

"Maybe later? You really need your rest." Ducky tried.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Nice try, Ducky. What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing like what you think. You just look tired."

"I can rest later. Please, what's going on? Did I do something stupid? Is that why Gibbs left the moment I woke up blind?" He asked worriedly. "Or maybe he just has no use for me now." He decided bitterly.

"Anthony! That's not true." Ducky stopped him instantly. "Jethro would never think that way and you did absolutely nothing wrong." He went quiet for a few seconds. "He blames himself. That's why he left. He couldn't face you."

"What?" Tony looked puzzled. "Why would he blame himself?"

"He slapped you."

"So? What's new?" Tony frowned.

"No. He slapped you really hard." Ducky elaborated. "You lost consciousness because of that."

Tony blinked a few times; _two blows_ , he remembered the doctor's word and suddenly it made sense. Before he could stop himself he burst out laughing.

Scared for the younger man's sanity, Ducky rose from his chair and grabbed Tony's shoulder. "Anthony?"

"He-" Tony took a breath to control his laughter. "He literally slapped me into a coma? Really?" He laughed harder. "Wow, what have I done for him to hit me that hard? Spilled his coffee?"

Ducky blinked, not sure how to decipher Tony's reaction. "As far as I'm aware, you have done nothing wrong. Apparently he had been mad for some other reasons."

"Yeah? That's not new either! So _now_ he feels bad for hitting me." Tony deduced. "Nice of him. Apparently only the physical blows and just the hard ones matter. It doesn't matter if he treats me like crap every single day." He was upset and kinda mad. He could remember telling Gibbs that he should unload his anger just on him, but he hadn't meant it this way. He might never see again and for what? Just because Gibbs hadn't been able to control his stupid temper?

"He never left your side while you were unconscious. He really didn't mean to hit you hard." Ducky knew how strong Gibbs and Tony's bond was and didn't want it to be lost. "I know you're mad at him and Lord knows you have every right to be, but... He's sorry."

"Ducky, are you sure you're not reading too much into it? Gibbs is never sorry, not for what he does to me." Tony sounded resigned and bitter.

Ducky studied the man in the bed and noted how tired and old he looked at that moment; Tony's masks were dropped. "That's not true. He'd never hurt you intentionally. You apparently were bent over and lost your balance when he hit you which resulted in you hitting your forehead to the edge of your desk."

"That why I'm blind now? Because I've studied Phys-Ed and know were the Occipital Lobe is. The swelling must be in _that_ area if I'm blind." He was pretty sure that _every_ body knew Occipital Lobe was positioned at the back of the brain; that didn't exactly need a med student; a blow to the forehead shouldn't cause blindness.

"You've received another blow to the back of your head earlier that da-"

"Ducky," Tony interrupted him dejectedly. "I might be upset, and well, I can't lie to you, I kinda _do_ blame him right now, but I know it's not completely his fault. You don't need to defend him. I'll move on. Eventually." He sighed.

"Oh, no. I am not trying to defend hi-" the older man paused, realizing that it was exactly what he was doing. "I apologize."

"No need, Ducky."

"You should rest, my dear boy; at least till your doctor comes back with your test results."

"Yeah." Tony replied despondently. "If you talk to him, tell him it's alright."

"I would never say such a thing, because it is _not_ alright. But I'll make sure he knows he has to be a man about it and come forward to apologize. He does care about you, Anthony. A great deal."

Tony didn't say anything in return; he wasn't so sure about Ducky's words and deep inside he knew that if his tests results weren't good, he wouldn't really want to see- well, to be around anyone for a while.

He needed time to regain his composure and to fortify his defenses.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	4. Chapter 4

"Anthony?" Ducky's voice woke him, making Tony realize that he'd nodded off. "Your test results are back."

Blinking his eyes and still seeing nothing but darkness, Tony turned his unseeing eyes towards the source of noises. "And? Do I need to learn Braille?"

"With your job, that might come in handy." Turner answered. "But hopefully, you won't need that for any other purpose."

It took a few seconds for Tony's drowsy mind to digest Turner's words, but when he finally got it, he felt a rush of relief.

He hadn't felt that way for years and it was funny how almost losing an ability that you take for granted every day, could make you realize how lucky you have been the whole time. "When- I mean-"

"As soon as the swelling goes down. The faster it goes down, the safer is the bet that you'll make a full recovery."

"You mean I might not regain my eyesight?" Tony asked anxiously.

"No, that's not what I mean. But we can't be sure how much of your sight you'll get back. We're hopeful that you can make a full recovery, but there still might be some damage to the optic nerve which could result in blurry vision or mild to moderate vision loss."

Tony gulped, that still would affect his job.

"But you don't need to worry! Like I said, the chances of a full recovery are high. You might have headaches and blurry vision at first when you get your eyesight back, but it'll go away. In the meantime you need to rest, aggravating your injury won't help you and we really don't want to open your head in an OR. So take it easy and rest."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Tony let the first genuine smile adorn his face. He wasn't one to borrow trouble and if the doctor said his chances were good, then he'd make a full recovery! He vaguely registered it when Ducky and Turner started to talk about his condition, before he felt Ducky's hand on his arm, telling him to get some rest. But before he could follow Ducky's instruction, Abby, Ziva and Tim walked in his room, and Tony was sure that it hadn't made the strict staff happy.

Soon, he found himself in a tight embrace and as much as he loved the feeling, he was glad when someone pulled Abby back. "He needs to breathe, Abs." Tim's voice came.

"I'm _so_ happy, Tony. I never believed that you wouldn't wake up, but every minute that passed and you remained unconscious-" Abby sounded really upset, "But I guess that's your way of resting, right? I'm so glad you're OK."

Tony smiled. "Yeah, me too."

"Tony?"

He actually heard the frown in Ziva's voice. "What?" he asked.

"Why do you-" she paused and with the way Abby gasped and Tim mumbled an ' _Oh_ ', Tony realized that they had no prior knowledge of his _temporary_ -God, he loved that word- blindness.

Before he could explain anything, Ducky helped him. "It's temporary. The swelling in his brain is putting pressure on his optic nerve and that's why he cannot see at the moment. It will hopefully go away in a few days."

"O my God, Tony." Once again Abby threw herself into Tony's arms and this time he just closed his eyes and rubbed her back. Who thought that the _patient_ would be the one comforting the others?

"I'm-" Tim stammered. "I'm sorry."

"You're not the one who hit me." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Abby pulled back and shared a worried glance with the others.

"I didn't mean it that way." Tony sighed when the silence stretched.

"It's OK. It _is_ his fault." Abby soothed.

"He made a mistake and apparently I already had a concussion, so not entirely _his_ fault." Tony tried to justify.

"Still he shouldn't have hit you that hard." McGee said back.

"Well, we all make mistakes." Tony sighed; he couldn't help but defend Gibbs in front of everyone else; he cared too much about the older man and sometimes it irritated even him. "Guys, Umm... I have a headache. Do you mind if-"

"Oh, sorry, Tony. Sleep. Sleep and get well soon. We'll be here." Abby kissed him on the cheek. "And Tony, I really am sorry for what I said the other night, I didn't mean-"

"Not now, Abs." Tony interrupted her and decided to change the subject. "You didn't leave a lipstick mark on my face, did you?" he pouted.

"No?"

Tony didn't believe her. "McGee?"

Sending a glare towards Tim, Abby dared him say otherwise.

Ziva chuckled. "She has. A black one." She grabbed a napkin and rubbed it on Tony's cheek. "Now sleep. We will come back later." She bent down and kissed him. "We are sorry for making things harder for you. But we shall talk about it another time, when you feel a bit better."

Nodding his head, Tony smiled tiredly and after exchanging goodbyes, the team finally left.

...

"Jethro?" Ducky called as soon as he entered the other man's house. When he didn't get an answer he walked to the basement.

"How long do you think you can hide down there?" He asked, finding Gibbs working on a piece of wood.

"Not hiding." Gibbs replied, not looking up from his work. "How's Tony?"

"Why don't you go and see for yourself." Ducky's tone was reprimanding.

"Dammit, Duck. He doesn't _want_ me there." Gibbs threw his tool away and looked up.

"Did he tell you that himself?" The medical examiner frowned. "Because the way he talked to me, I'm quite certain that he has not seen you since waking up."

"That's because he _can't_ see a damn thing." Gibbs said bitterly.

"I meant it figuratively." Ducky sighed with annoyance. "He's upset, Jethro and we both know that he has every right to feel that way, but he wants you there. You know how Anthony is; you wait too long and he will think you've given up on him and don't need him anymore now that he can't see. And you know that _you_ need to talk to him, too. You need to apologize."

"I know. But I can't, Duck. Not after-" he rubbed his forehead. "I'm the reason he's blind. How can I face him?"

"So you prefer to escape and hide instead of facing the problem? Is that it, Jethro? I assumed it was the complete opposite of everything you believed in."

Gibbs hung his head and took a deep breath; when he finally looked up, there was determination in his eyes.

Ducky nodded his approval and quietly walked up the stairs. He decided not to mention that the doctor had confirmed the fact that the blindness was temporary, thinking that Jethro needed to carry that guilt for a while longer.

Gibbs stood there for a few more minutes, but he knew what he had to do. He owed Tony more than that. He couldn't leave him alone now, making his young friend think that now that he couldn't see, everyone would just walk away from him.

No; it didn't matter if Tony hated him, he wasn't about to abandon him and act like he didn't care anymore.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he rushed to his car to get to the hospital before he could change his mind.

...

Entering Tony's room quietly, Gibbs stood there for a few seconds, looking at Tony's sleeping form. The pain lines were evident around the man's eyes but his breathing was steady and even.

"So you decided that I'm not a complete lost cause, after all. Huh?" Tony's voice startled him and for fraction of a second he was glad that Tony couldn't see anything to witness that reaction; but he wasn't surprised that not only had the younger man heard him entering the room, but also had recognized him without him opening his mouth. He knew that Tony was a top notch investigator. "Or did you come here to dress me down, again?" Tony's eyes were still closed, and if it wasn't for his hand gripping the bed rail, Gibbs would've thought that he hadn't talked at all and was still sleeping.

"You can't be a lost cause; not even if you tried." Gibbs' voice sounded strange even to his own ears. He was about to say _'sorry'_ for hurting him and for leaving him when he shouldn't have, but instead he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Just peachy." Tony answered curtly; somehow the pain and his blindness was affecting his usual calmness. Taking a deep breath, he forced his nerves to calm. "You can sit, this is not contagious." he said, pointing to his eyes.

 _Sarcasm_ , he deserved it! Gibbs thought before sighing deeply and walking to the chair beside the bed and sitting down. "I'm sorry." _'There, you said it. It wasn't that hard, was it?'_ A voice mocked him in his head.

Tony was about to come up with a witty remark and ask the older man what he was sorry about, but stopped himself in time. He knew his boss too well and knew that uttering those seemingly simple words couldn't have been easy; that and Ducky's words about Gibbs feeling extremely guilty.

So he just nodded and mumbled an _'OK'_ , before turning his head away.

Still, a simple ' _I'm sorry'_ didn't really merit more than that. He wasn't about to talk until he was blue in the face just to reassure his boss that everything was alright when the other man couldn't even utter more than a simple ' _sorry_ '.

Besides, he was still mad, he couldn't lie to himself; although he'd been told that the blindness was temporary, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if it wasn't or if he wound up with low vision. They kept saying that brain was a strange organ and head injuries were always tricky; so what if he never regained his sight? What if _this_ was his life? And against his effort, he was somehow disappointed and mad at Gibbs.

"You didn't deserve that slap." Gibbs cleared his throat; noticing how hard the younger man was trying to keep his emotions at bay. "Not even a mild one." He knew he had to talk more if he wanted to start showing he was actually remorseful.

"No."

"And,..." Gibbs clenched his fist in frustration. "And I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

"No, I just needed to end up in a hospital for everyone to admit to it." Tony retorted sarcastically. "I'm just an easy target; always have been."

Gibbs closed his eyes.

Damn, he really had screwed up this time and had no idea how to fix it.

He really couldn't take it; couldn't take the resignation in the voice of his most loyal and most resilient agent and know that he'd been the one putting it there and causing the pain.

Standing abruptly from his seat, he caused the chair to make a loud screech on the floor which made Tony jump a bit and turn his head towards the noise; unseeing eyes darting to right and left.

Gibbs' heart clenched tightly in his chest at that sight and he felt like screaming and hitting something. "Damn." he cursed. "Sorry. It was nothing. It's OK." He put a hand on Tony's shoulder, indicating that everything was alright, but when Tony shrank away, he immediately pulled his hand away.

"I need a coffee; will be right back."

"You don't have to. It's OK." Tony sighed and closed his unseeing eyes for which Gibbs was grateful. Seeing those green eyes darting around aimlessly was too much to take; so he just walked out of the room with no more words.

Berating himself for showing his frustration and weakness, Tony punched the mattress with clenched fist. He was so distracted that he barely heard it when someone quietly entered his room some minutes later.

Frowning a bit, he tried to remember who those footsteps belonged to, but so far he couldn't recognize the owner; so he uncomfortably asked, "Umm, who's there?"

"Agent DiNozzo, we need to take you for a few more tests." A man, that Tony thought should be an orderly, answered. "I'll help you to sit in a wheelchair." He said as he gently put a hand under Tony's armpit and slowly helped him to his chair.

Tony felt his stomach churn, thinking that they might've found something new in his test results and that was why they were taking him to go through another set of tests. "Is everything alright?"

"What?" The man asked. "Oh, yes. Your doctor will answer your questions, shortly. I'm just here to take you to the MRI room."

Tony silently nodded and felt dizzy; the symptoms of his concussion weren't gone yet. He was about to ask for a nurse when he heard a familiar sound; but before he could open his mouth to ask about it, he felt a needle piercing into in his neck and then there was nothing.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	5. Chapter 5

"Tony, open your eyes! Hey, DiNozzo!" Gibbs growled, but still got no response.

Shouting angrily, Gibbs struggled against his chains once again to no avail.

Tony needed to be in the hospital, not in that filthy basement, tied to a chair; he had enough problems already. Once again he cursed himself for letting his guards down.

The last thing he could remember after leaving Tony's room was entering the elevator with another guy. He couldn't even remember struggling. _'Some Marine you are.'_ He thought angrily.

"Boss?" Tony's voice startled him.

"Hey, hey, you with me, Tony?" He pushed himself forward as much as he could.

"Depends." Tony said hoarsely. "Where _are_ you?"

"Everything is going to be alright." Gibbs comforted instead of answering.

"That's not an answer to my question." He sounded annoyed. "I'm not a fucking four year old, Gibbs. You don't need to reassure me just because I'm blind. _Where_ are we?"

"Watch your language, DiNozzo." Gibbs chastised light-heartedly. "I don't know." He finally confessed. "I woke up here and found you tied to that chair, in front of me."

Tony was silent; he didn't know what to say and more than any other time he wished he could see what was going on. If they were taken, which clearly they were, then he needed all his senses. It was bad enough that he was tied and couldn't move. Not being able to see was simply too much; but panicking wasn't an option; so he tried to pretend that he was simply blindfolded. "Are we alone?" He asked quietly, hating the fact that he couldn't say for sure.

"Yes. For now." Gibbs answered. "Listen to me, DiNozzo. You do everything you should to avoid getting hit or receiving any blows especially to your head. That clear?"

"You mean I should keep my mouth shut?"

"Basically." Gibbs tried not to smile even though Tony couldn't see it.

"And let them do whatever they like to you?" Tony went further.

His smile faded; damn DiNozzo for always putting the others ahead of himself. "Yes, DiNozzo and that's an order."

"Well, we're not on the clock now and with the situation I'm in, I might never work for you again, which means you can't order me around." Tony said confidently.

"Dammit, DiNozzo." Gibbs growled. "Another blow to your head and you'll go back into the coma you just woke up from."

"And what do you think they'll do to you? Coddle you? You could _die_." He replied heatedly.

"It's _my_ fault you ended up in that hospital in the first place. It's _my_ fault you're blind. I can't take your death. Dammit." The older man growled furiously.

Tony went quiet, letting Gibbs calm down. Pondering for a few minutes, he decided to put the other man out of his misery; it was clear that guilt was eating him alive already. "They say it's not permanent."

"What?" Gibbs was genuinely confused.

"The blindness, they say it's temporary." Tony repeated, trying to let the other man know that he wasn't angry anymore; or at least not as much as he was before. They were both in trouble and he didn't need his anger to lessen their chances of survival.

Gibbs felt relieved beyond words and could hug Tony right then and there, but that feeling faded quickly as fear replaced it. "If that's true then you have more reasons to stay out of this. For God's sake, Tony. Stay quiet and let me handle it. Whatever it is."

"So you have no idea what this is about?" Tony didn't promise anything. He wasn't one to sit back and let some scumbags hurt his boss before his eyes; so to speak.

"No." Gibbs sighed, perfectly aware that Tony hadn't made any promises, but before he could make him do so, the door opened and an old man entered, being followed by two goons.

Tony tried to look as nonchalant as possible, even though he had a battle inside. The panic for not being able to see what was happening and who had just entered the room was trying to surface and he had to push it down.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Tony heard someone said and by the confidence and arrogance in his voice, he could say that he was the one in charge. "Long time no see."

"Too long, apparently. Since I don't remember you. You mustn't have been important." Gibbs replied icily, using all his abilities to keep the man's attention on himself. He honestly couldn't remember the man, but figured that he must've been related to a case they had worked on, years ago.

The punch to his stomach brought him back to the present, albeit it stole his breath.

Looking up, he first saw concern on Tony's face as his eyes were fixed somewhere above his shoulder and then caught the smirk on the dirtbag's face. "What the hell do you want?" he growled, aiming more for Tony to hear his voice so he could know that he was alright. At that moment hearing was the only sense Tony could use.

"Tell me, does the name Joshua Miller ring a bell with you?"

 _Miller? Joshu- Damn, yes. Joshua Miller, he remembered the man; he was a victim in a case from the time when he was still working for Mike Franks. It was literally ancient._ "What about him?"

"So you do remember him. Good." The man nodded. "And do you remember how he died?"

He did. The man was a witness to a crime and he and a teammate were sent for his protection detail.

The problem was that the mob had gotten to him before they could and so they'd found his dismembered body in a garbage bag on a table in his home. Attached to it was a note mocking the team for their fruitless effort to protect the man.

Gibbs could never forget that case; he never stopped blaming himself for Joshua's death, thinking that if he'd been faster, if they had taken it a bit more serious, then they wouldn't have failed the young Petty Officer.

It took them 4 long months, but they finally got those responsible for his death; even though it felt too little too late.

Thinking back, he now could remember the man standing before him. He'd aged, sure and looked way older than he should, but there was no mistake who that man was. "You're his brother."

"Good memory." The man smirked, "Considering how much older I look. And yes, I do know that I look way older than I should. Receiving your baby brother's body parts, then having your mother killing herself and your father going crazy would do that to you. I spent all these years taking care of my old man; he passed away two months ago, thinking I was Joshua. How amazing is that?" He laughed bitterly. "But do you know what kept me going all these years? I'm sure you do. You've felt the same way when someone killed your family."

Tony's head jerked up. He was following the conversation and although he was a bit lost, he could guess what had happened; it was the last part that caught his attention, though. It meant that this man, Miller, had done his homework if he knew about Gibbs' past.

Gibbs' eye darkened at the mention of his family, but he didn't show anything else. "Your brother's killers are dead. I made sure of that."

" _You_ are my brother's killer." The man spat. "You bastard failed to protect him and he died crying for the help you should've provided for him." Taking a deep breath he continued, "I tried to find your boss, Mike Franks, but he's dead. Someone's gotten to him before I did, I guess. Such a shame. You were his Senior Field Agent at that time, so you were the next on my list."

That meant Brian Jones, Gibbs' partner at that time was next on the list. As far as he knew, the man had left low enforcement altogether. None of those were important, though, what Gibbs couldn't get was what Tony's role was in this game? Why was _he_ taken? And from a hospital bed, of all places. "You have me, why did you take him?" He pointed to Tony with his head.

"Oh! Agent DiNozzo, you're so quiet I almost forgot you were here, too." The man turned around, and Gibbs cursed himself for reminding him of Tony's presence, even though he knew the man hadn't really forgotten about him. "It's not like you, is it, _Tony_? To be so quiet, I mean. Or maybe losing your eyesight has affected you more than you let on. Huh?" He patted Tony's cheek amicably, making Gibbs want to break that hand.

Tony, on the other hand, gave him his brightest smile and looked slightly up; his eyes somewhere on the man's chest. "I see you've done more than your homework. Some of my coworkers in the NCIS building still don't know that I'm blind. You didn't answer Gibbs' question, what's my role in this? Not that I don't enjoy a good excitement."

"Oh, right, about that. You see, your boss over there," he took Tony's face in his hand and turned it towards where Gibbs was sitting. "Has no family left. His old man lives simply too far away for me to catch him. So that leaves you; his protégé who's been by his side for 12 _years_ now. I've been following him around for a while now, but when you ended up in that hospital and I saw how he wouldn't leave your side, I knew I had found my target. I gotta say, I prayed for you to survive, didn't want my plan ruined before it started."

"I feel loved. Thanks." Tony said sneeringly.

"Yeah, but blindness wasn't in the plan either and it came _really_ handy and I'm thankful for that." The man grinned impishly at Gibbs.

"And what's he supposed to do now?" Gibbs sounded cool, but deep down he was furious and scared; he had some ideas about what the man's intentions were.

Miller rolled his eyes. "Gibbs, don't act like an imbecile; it's not a good look on you. Hurting you won't satisfy me. You gotta go through the same pain _I_ did in order for me to feel happy."

Tony snorted. "Sorry. Sorry," He cleared his throat and acted like he was trying to control himself. "But you think by hurting _me_ you're going to _hurt_ him? Man, you're not as smart as I gave you credit for."

"Don't sell yourself short. He cares a great deal about you." The man patted Tony's face once more.

"Do you know why I ended up in that hospital? Or why I'm blind now?" Tony asked, unable to see the confusion on Miller's face and Gibbs flinching. " _He_ 's the reason." Tony motioned with his head towards where Gibbs was supposed to be. "Can you believe that he actually can hit you hard enough to damage your optic nerve?" He chuckled and still managed to sound bitter and upset.

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Ask whoever you like." Tony shrugged as best as he could.

"He's right. I did it. Didn't want to go this far but he's not good at obeying orders."

"Right, that's why you wouldn't leave his bedside even for your beloved coffee."

"My career would go to hell if he died. I had to keep up the facade." Gibbs said coldly; having figured out what Tony was doing; he was buying them some time. By now, the team should have found out about their absence and if they bought themselves some time, they might be able to walk out of this predicament as unharmed as possible. Judging by the look on Miller's face, they weren't far from success.

"You're a masochist or something? Why would you stand by his side if he abuses you like that?"

"Would you believe me if I say my father made me an addict to it?" Tony smirked. "But no, my old man never hit me the way you think. Anyway, I'm just used to it. I can handle him and that's enough. All I care about is doing my job, and since I learned how to take the brunt of everyone's anger when I was a mere kid, I can stand him while nobody else could. Anything to get the job done. You know?" Tony looked up as if he could see where the man's face was. "But hey, if that means you won't lay a hand on him, then by all means, go ahead and hit me. I'm already down for some hospitalization."

The man now looked really puzzled, feeling like he hadn't chosen the right man. Unable to think clearly in that situation, he motioned for his goons to leave the room and walked out himself, slamming the door behind him.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	6. Chapter 6

"Your father beat you up?" Was Gibbs' first question.

"I just insulted you and this is the first thing you ask?" Tony looked amazed. Trust Gibbs to forget the insults and address the deeper traumas. "No. Not the way you think."

"But he did hit you." It was a statement.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Gibbs, the man used to hit the bottle on an hourly basis; he wasn't himself most of the time; but no, he never hit me in an abusive way. A backhand here or a slap there was all I'd receive; that is _if_ he noticed me." He smiled bitterly and went quiet, looking thoughtful.

Gibbs was about to say that slaps and backhands weren't alright, either, but he remembered that he himself had been slapping people around and Tony had always took them without a word; damn, he was a hypocrite. Before he could find the chance to say something, though, Tony restarted talking. "I didn't mean what I said, you know?" He said quietly.

"About me being the reason you're in this situation?" Gibbs sounded dejected and that was something unusual for him. "You should mean it."

"Gibbs." Tony's tone was carrying a warning. "I _am_ angry, it's hard not to be, mostly because you keep treating me like crap and I'm getting too old for that; I'm a seasoned agent and I think I deserve some respect from my coworkers. But that's a problem for another time." He shrugged. "The point is, this isn't permanent and well, we all make mistakes; don't beat yourself up too much. You've been there for me when nobody else has; I guess I owe you more than that."

"You don't owe me shit, DiNozzo." Gibbs grunted. "I've taken from you as much as I've given, if not more."

"Admitting to it, that's a big step!" Tony smirked and then sighed. "Well, let's just say that I didn't mean any of those words and I'm happy to work with you. Except maybe for those days that you're too grumpy."

"Which is every day?"

"Nah, just every other day." Tony smiled.

Gibbs decided that a little praise and some positive words wouldn't go amiss. "I have a lot of respect for you, DiNozzo. I've told you this before; you're the best agent I've worked with."

"Hmm. You just enjoy showing otherwise in front of everyone else."

Gibbs didn't know what to say to that, the younger man was right and he didn't really have anything to justify his actions.

"Man, this sucks." Tony suddenly blurted out; he really wasn't in the mood to talk about all their issues. Besides, he needed to be able to see and study his boss' face when they were talking about something that important; although, they probably wouldn't bring that subject up again. None of them were the type to pour their hearts out. "I rely on seeing their faces when I talk my heads off." he added, implying that the previous conversation was over.

"You're supposed to shut up." The older man reminded him. "Just keep your mouth shut and let's find a way to get out of this mess."

"And what do you expect _me_ to do? I couldn't even say how many of them were in the room." Tony sounded annoyed and Gibbs suddenly noticed that Tony was actually trying too hard not to show his annoyance which was admirable, considering the fact that he probably had a killer headache and couldn't see a damn thing. He had to get them outta there soon, he wasn't about to let Tony down, again.

"There were three of them." He said calmly. "Two of them were his goons and I think that's all he has."

"Well, we should hope that Ziva and McGee can find a way to get to us sooner. I assume you weren't conscious in your way here, huh?" When he didn't get an answer, he said, "You're glaring at me now, aren't you? You gotta tell me if you wanna glare. I might think you've fallen asleep." Gibbs gave a throaty growl and Tony snickered. "I think I gotta thank my lucky stars that you are chained and can't slap me; I'm sure that's what you wish you could do now."

"Not gonna get near your head again." His boss finally grunted.

"WOW, you _were_ scared." Tony grinned. "So, what's the story of this Joshua Miller?"

Gibbs didn't want to talk about that case ever again, but Tony was once again stuck in a dire situation because of a case from _his_ past; so he figured it was only fair to fill him in.

...

"I cannot believe this. Taking Tony from his room in a hospital is unbelievable, but at least he was not able to see anything. Gibbs was not down like Tony was. How could someone take _him_ from the hospital?" Ziva was pacing the lab angrily; unable to understand what had happened.

"At least they weren't smart enough to hide the car's number." McGee said as he worked alongside a very quiet and tensed up Abby, trying to find more information about their teammates' whereabouts. They all knew that Tony needed to be in the hospital and Ducky and Doctor Turner had mentioned that another hard blow to the head for Tony could be fatal with the already existing brain swelling. And without the proper medication for the intracranial pressure, Tony could have a set back and slip into a coma again.

"What have you got?" Vance asked as he entered the lab.

"Umm, we've put a BOLO on the van, and now we're using the facial recognition program to find those two guys that had been last seen with Tony and Gibbs." McGee reported.

"Agent Fornell is on his way to here; you'll report to him as soon as he arrives. I want Gibbs and DiNozzo back as soon as possible."

"Yes, Sir." McGee said as Vance walked out.

"We do not need Fornell; we can very well find them without anyone's help." Ziva said indignantly.

"Now is not the time to prove your skills, Ziva." Abby turned on her heel and looked Ziva in the eyes. "Tony could die. We have to be quick."

"I know that." Ziva folded her arms.

"Then cooperate and let us do our jobs." Abby demanded as she turned her attention back to her computer screen.

Growling in Hebrew under her breath, Ziva walked out of the lab to find some useful information.

...

Tony had gone quiet after talking about Joshua and at first Gibbs thought he was just thinking about the case, but as time went on, he became aware of the pain lines on the younger man's face and the set jaw.

"Tony?" he called.

"Hmm,"

"Can you open your eyes for me?"

"What for?" He growled without looking up.

Gibbs could kick himself for forgetting that Tony couldn't see and his eyes wouldn't react to the light, so there really was no reason for him to open them. "How's the pain?" He already knew the answer.

"Why? You have painkillers?" Tony asked in return. "I'm OK." He added.

"No, you're not. You need to be in the hospital. But I can't let you sleep."

"I know." Tony sighed. "Don't ask me to talk, though. Don't wanna throw up. The room's stinky enough." He said through clenched teeth.

Right then a key slid into the lock and turned.

Miller and his two goons entered the room. "So you bought yourself a couple of hours, but how long did you think you could keep me away. Huh?" He sounded angry, like he couldn't stand the fact that he'd been played. "You'll pay for it; trust me." He snapped and motioned for one of his goons to grab Tony's head by his hair.

Tony had heard the footsteps and knew one of them was approaching him, but that didn't prepare him enough to stifle a groan when the pain ran through his head by the not so gentle handling.

"Are you ready, Agent Gibbs?"

"Dammit, Miller. He wasn't even an agent when your brother got killed. He's got a brain edema, leave him alone." Gibbs was seeing red and if it wasn't for the chains around his body, he'd be on Miller's throat, squeezing the life out of him with his bare hands. "You hurt him and I'll hunt you down and kill you the way they killed your brother. I swear."

"Oh, knowing the beast you are, I have no doubt." The devilish grin that adorned his face was nauseating. "But by the time I'm done with him, you won't be in any state of mind to do anything other than staring at the wall in front of you. I'll break you."

With a swift motion of his head the other man joined the first one and punched Tony hard in the face, while the first goon kept his head up.

Gritting his teeth, Tony took a deep breath and said, "are you going to mutilate me like your baby bro? How do you know what had happened to him exactly? Were you there?"

Another punch to his cheek didn't stop him. "You were, weren't you? You stood there while they killed your brother. That's why you're so angry."

The punch to his stomach stole his breath, stopping him from uttering anything else.

The man bent down in front of Tony and said, "I'm gonna make you cry out your boss' name. You'll beg for him to help you."

"Right now, I'm glad I can't see a damn thing. Poor Gibbs, your face must be really sickening."

"It is." Came Gibbs' voice from across the room. "But I'll keep him alive for you to see his face when _he_ begs for his life."

Tony grinned and turned his head towards where he could hear breathing of a man. "And I'll make sure you scream for your _brother_ to save you." The next thing he received wasn't a punch or a backhand; it was an elbow connecting with his nose bridge, breaking it instantly.

Gibbs bristled. "Leave him alone, you bastard."

Miller smirked at Gibbs and looked back at Tony. "Untie him." He ordered one of his goons. "And you," his gazed turned to the other one, "give me your lighter."

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs felt his heart sank into his boots at hearing those words, but seeing the fear in Tony's eyes was way worse.

The younger man was trying to look stoic, but Gibbs knew just how deep to look and deep in his unseeing eyes, there was fear.

He struggled against his chains, but they didn't budge; he couldn't just sit there and watch those barbaric bastards torture his agent, his friend, before his eyes.

Tony's eyes was darting around rapidly and Gibbs realized that the younger man was trying to locate his boss now that he wasn't in the same position as he was one minute ago; so he called out. "Tony. Hey, I'm gonna get you outta here. Just hang on."

Hearing Gibbs' voice, Tony felt relief surged through his body. Even though Gibbs was chained and unable to move, knowing that the other man was there was reassuring. Fixing his eyes on where he'd heard his boss, he merely nodded.

Had Gibbs been the crying type, he'd be crying his heart out right then and there. Tony's eyes weren't even fixated on his face, but there were complete trust and confidence in them. He felt like shouting above his head, telling the younger man that he didn't deserve that much loyalty and trust.

Unaware of the silent conversation between Tony and Gibbs, which was weird since Tony couldn't even see to read the older man' eyes, Miller pushed Tony to his knees and lit the lighter, while one of his goons held him tight and the other one brought his left arm up and held the forearm right above the lighter.

Tony desperately tried to block the pain in his head and now his knees. His nose had stopped bleeding, but he couldn't easily breathe through it and the blow to it had intensified the pain in his head.

But his mind wasn't really on any of those things; he didn't want to think about what Miller was doing to him, but it was getting harder and harder. Deep down, he was glad that at least they had started with his left arm. He didn't want his shooting hand damaged.

The burning sensation that he was feeling on his forearm soon became unbearable, but he kept his mouth shut and his eyes open, fixed on what he thought was Gibbs's face which actually was his left shoulder.

Gibbs for his part didn't look away and although he knew Tony couldn't see him, he felt that he could send some strength towards his agent by just looking back at him; all while he tried to find a way to get rid of his chains and fight the bile that was rising into his throat at the sight and smell of the burning flesh; he doubted he could ever eat or cook steak again without throwing up.

Tony wasn't sure what had happened during the next few minutes, _or was it hours?_ He was vaguely aware of some growls escaping his mouth and then moans and groans.

And then someone was shouting, sounding a lot like Gibbs.

The pain in his arm had made his headache fade away; the headache really wasn't comparable to the other pain he was feeling at that moment and once again he was glad for not being able to see what was happening to his arm, because judging by the smell of charred hair and flesh, he knew he'd be sick if he could see his arms.

Soon the pain in his left forearm was joined with one from his left _palm_ and then it was his right arm and then he knew nothing as the merciful darkness finally engulfed him.

He wasn't even aware that he'd passed out, but the next thing he heard was Gibbs' voice begging him to-... Wait, Gibbs never begs, but he really sounded like he was pleading with him to wake up; something wasn't right! Anyway, he heard the older man desperately calling his name, asking him to wake up. And although he really didn't feel like doing so, he could never ignore an order, or in this case a request, from Gibbs.

So blinking his eyes open, which was just out of habit, he turned his head towards Gibbs' voice. "-'mup." he slurred.

"More like down." Came the answer after a few seconds of long silence.

Tony could swear that there were both anxiety and relief in the older man's voice. Gibbs really did sound strange. "Boss, you alright?" He frowned.

"Me?" Gibbs barked. "You're the one burned."

"Well, you sound weird and hearing's the only sense I've got...-" Tony justified his first question and frowned before finishing his sentence with a _"right.. now_." Suddenly the fear for his shooting hand clutched at his heart. He tried to clench his hand into a fist which turned out to be a big mistake, and he had to bite his lower lip hard in order to stop himself from screaming.

"Don't." Came the warning a second too late. "Don't." Gibbs repeated more quietly.

Tony panted and closed his eyes. "What's the damage?" He asked worriedly; damn he couldn't even touch the burning areas to decide for himself. He really was screwed.

"It's gonna be fine, as soon as we get you to the hospital."

"Will I be able to shoot again?" He needed to know.

"Yes, DiNozzo." Gibbs reassured him. "You're gonna be able to shoot and play piano and _all_ your stupid games again." He added with more force behind his words to make sure Tony had received the message loud and clear; but he hid the fact that he'd probably carry the gut churning scars forever. The younger man's hands and arms looked bad, but the burn marks didn't look like third-degree burns, so there was hope. "Tony-" the older man hesitated.

"What?" Tony frowned, "Gibbs?" He asked again when his boss didn't go on with what he had on his mind. It wasn't like Gibbs to falter.

Gibbs was reluctant to ask Tony what he was about to ask, especially since he'd just ordered him not to move his arms, but it seemed to be their only chance. "They didn't tie you." He stated, waiting for Tony to catch up with him.

"What?" For the first time, Tony realized that not only was he not tied; he wasn't even in his seats anymore. "Huh. Why?"

"You can't see and you can't move your arms. There isn't much you can do just by listening." Gibbs answered matter of factly.

"That _your_ opinion or theirs?"

"You think I'm that stupid?" The ex-marine growled. "I don't want you to move, but-"

"But the small amount of pain now is better than the hell that bastard is going to put me through later." Tony deduced and struggled to his feet. The pain emanating from his abdomen, told him that he probably had been kicked in the chest after passing out. "Just give me the directions."

"Nothing is between you and me. Just follow my voice till I stop you."

The room wasn't that big and Gibbs wasn't that far, so Tony even with unsteady steps reached him with six steps. "Sounds like you're chained. What can I do?" He asked, not sure what he was able to do with his hands burned and his eyes blind. Let's not forget he didn't have a key or a chain saw either.

"Just hand me your belt knife, I'll do the rest." Gibbs answered.

Tony frowned as he gingerly lowered himself to the ground and with his right hand reached for his belt. It really hurt like hell, but he didn't have a choice, so he tried to think about what Gibbs had in mind instead. "Wait." His eyes widened. "You're going to use blood to slip your arms out? That's crazy."

"You have a better idea? Just hand me your damn knife." Gibbs demanded impatiently, worried that Miller would return to their room any minute.

With some difficulties, Tony finally released his knife. Now he just had to find Gibbs' hands. Again with his right one -he really couldn't move his left hand- he started to touch Gibbs' back until he found the man's hands. "You sure about this? I can take it a bit longer; we could wait for the cavalry to-"

"No." Gibbs interjected. "It's already too much." Gibbs shuddered inwardly when he felt Tony's burned fingers and the wetness of his blood on his hands and thought that the younger man must be in a world of pain and yet, he was still offering to suffer more just to spare his bastard boss.

Cursing himself under his breath for constantly overlooking his SFA and forgetting his selflessness too many times, he didn't hesitate to move the knife between his fingers and put the blade on his left wrist. He just hoped that it would work. He didn't care if he damaged his wrists or hands in the process; Tony was more important than that.

...

Ziva was behind the wheel with McGee in the passenger seat and Fornell and his team somewhere behind them on the road. They couldn't keep up with Ziva's speed, but for once McGee didn't complain. He knew they were already late, but at least they had found the van and had a warehouse to search; hopefully they were going to find their missing teammates there; in once piece and unharmed!

...

As soon as the blood covered his arms, Gibbs was able to free his hands which made all the chains around his body loose and he finally freed himself, albeit rather hard and slowly.

Turning around, he found Tony leaning against the farthest wall, with his hands on his laps and his eyes on them. If Gibbs didn't know better, he'd think Tony was actually looking at his burned arms. "Hey, you with me?" He tried not to look at Tony's arms; there wasn't anything he could do at that moment to help Tony with his arms and he needed to get them out of there.

Blinking his eyes as if he was suddenly brought back to the present, Tony turned his head towards Gibbs' voice and frowned. "You freed yourself."

"I did. Let's get outta here." Gibbs hoisted the younger man to his feet and shuddered at how clammy his skin felt. Tony was going into shock. They didn't have much time. "Hey, DiNozzo." Gibbs shook the other man slightly. "You're not gonna go into shock on me. You hear me? Hold on a little longer."

"'m good." Tony swallowed hard and sighed, but the physical pain and the emotional one of not being able to see and not knowing how bad his hands were burned were taking their toll on him. "How are we gonna get out?"

"I'll pick the lock."

"They might come back."

"You don't need to think about it. I'll deal with them. Just concentrate on staying awake." Gibbs paused. "Talk to me."

"Talk?" Tony asked with confusion, he really didn't feel so good. "'bout what?"

Gibbs thought for a second and found the best subject that could keep Tony alert at that moment. "You should file a complaint against me."

"What?" Tony straightened his shoulder. "What the hell for?"

"I hit you hard enough for you to end up in a hospital, DiNozzo, and everyone at the Navy Yard knows that. Hell, you've lost your vision. You gotta show some self-esteem."

"Are you saying that I _don't_ have any?" Tony gritted his teeth; he sounded affronted.

"I'm glaring at you right now." Gibbs grunted without hesitation.

That deflated Tony's anger immediately and he snorted. "You're using my blindness in your favor. That's not fair."

"What?" Gibbs frowned and threw a glance at the younger man.

"You were _not_ glaring at me; your eyes were on the lock you are picking and-" he went quiet and suddenly tensed. "And you gotta hurry, I hear something."

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs hadn't heard anything, but then again Tony's hearing had always been better than his and considering the fact that he didn't have his eyesight at that moment, he probably had an even better hearing; so Tony's words were enough to make him try and work faster, but with his wrists bleeding and hurting, picking the lock wasn't as easy as it usually was.

"Stay back." He ordered and pushed Tony aside, out of harm's way, when he finally heard the noises that Tony had heard earlier and realized that he wouldn't be able to pick the stupid lock before Miller and his thugs arrived; so he decided to go for plan B, which was catching them by surprise.

He stood in the darkness in front of Tony and waited for the door to open.

He didn't have to wait long; soon, the door was flung open and it did surprise Miller to find the cell empty, but before he could fully turn around to find Gibbs and Tony, the older man had dug Tony's knife in his neck, up to the hilt.

Surprisingly, the man had come alone this time and since Gibbs knew where to hit, Miller hadn't been able to make a sound before he fell to the ground, reaching for his throat. Blood was pouring out from his neck wound and his mouth as he looked up at Gibbs with horror and disbelief in his eyes.

Kneeling by his side, Gibbs looked the man in the eyes, malice and hatred emanating from every fiber of his being.

Two days ago, had he seen him under normal circumstances, he would've sympathized with the man. He even might've asked for his forgiveness for not being able to save the man's brother.

But not today. Today was different.

Today this man had gone so far as hurting one of Gibbs' men, and not just anyone; he'd gone for _Tony_ and had hurt him badly, and as if it wasn't bad enough, he'd done so in a time when the ex-cop had already been down and suffering greatly.

Now it was impossible for Gibbs to forgive or feel any sympathy. "I'd say dying this way is too fast and rotting in hell is too good for you, but I gotta get outta here and don't have any time to waste on you. Rot in hell, bastard." He growled in Miller's face.

With that he stood up and turned towards Tony who had a strange look on his face, a combination of amusement and awe. "Throat?" He asked curtly.

Gibbs smirked slightly and nodded before remembering that Tony couldn't see him. "Too fast." He repeated, knowing that Tony could get his meaning.

Gibbs gripped Tony's upper arm and gently led his Senior Agent out of their cell. "We're in a basement, so there will be stairs on our way out and I gotta keep an eye out for the other idiots who were helping Miller."

Tony knew what Gibbs meant; the older man was apologizing in his own way, for possible harms that might come his way later. "I can find my way with the walls; you go ahead." He tried.

"Not gonna happen."

"Gibbs, you're bleeding heavily." Tony suddenly became very aware of the wetness on his skin, where Gibbs' hand was resting on his upper arm.

Looking at his hand, Gibbs shrugged, even though Tony couldn't see it. "Not too bad. And shut up, I'm not leaving you to find your way; you're hardly standing on your feet."

Just before Tony could protest, they heard some shots from upstairs and instinctively, Gibbs shoved Tony behind himself as he, himself, hid behind a wall and cautiously peeked out to see what was happening.

"I think the cavalry has finally arrived." Tony hissed behind him with pain obvious in his voice.

Gibbs had been thinking the same thing; there couldn't be another explanation. However stupid they were, they wouldn't shoot at each other, so it just meant that helped had arrived.

He really wanted to go up and see what was happening and help whoever that had come to their rescue, but he wasn't armed and he didn't want to leave Tony alone and there was no way he would drag Tony along to a firefight in his current condition.

So he just stood there and waited impatiently for the shots to stop and it didn't really take long, one minute or two at most, which confirmed his thought about Miller not having more than two accomplices in his crime.

"I think it's safe to go out." Tony said behind him; his voice was weaker than two minutes ago.

Looking back, Gibbs saw the thick layer of perspiration on his SFA's forehead and for the first time he noticed how hard and fast his ailing friend was panting. Reaching out, he put two fingers on the side of Tony's neck to check his pulse and growled when Tony tried to pull back. His heartbeat was faster than Gibbs would like, but at least it wasn't too fast; although, Tony's skin felt clammy and cold to touch.

Damn, his condition was deteriorating fast.

He was about to say something when they both heard someone walking down the stairs. Scratch that, those footsteps definitely belonged to more than just one person.

Risking another look, Gibbs almost sighed in relief when he saw Fornell and Ziva appearing down the staircase.

Calling before walking out of his hiding place, Gibbs informed them of their presence so they wouldn't shoot. "About time you showed up." He came out, his hand still on Tony's arm as the younger man followed him slowly. "Miller is in that room." He pointed with his other hand. "Probably dead by now." He said that part to Fornell. "Where's the ambulance, Ziva?"

Ziva was assessing Tony and her eyes widened in fear and shock as she took in his appearance. "It... It should be here any minute now." She frowned. "Tony?" She called out quietly.

Fornell who hadn't been aware of Tony's condition almost gasped when he found Tony's gaze somewhere to their left, staring at nothing in particular; a clear sign of not seeing a damn thing. "What the hell happened to _him_?" He asked Gibbs.

Tony rolled his eyes and turned his head towards Fornell's voice, his eyes . "Jus' another day on the job." He then turned his eyes a bit to the right which was the opposite direction of Ziva; he was getting dizzy and it was becoming harder to concentrate. He said, "make sure someone takes care of Gibbs, too, Ziva. His wrists are bleeding badly."

Ziva's eyes traveled to Gibb's hands, then to Tony's burned arms and again to Tony's face. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded; then remembered that Tony couldn't see her, so whispered a _'yes, Tony'_ and jogged up the stairs to wait for the medics.

"Come on, I'll take you upstairs." Gibbs led Tony to the stairs, knowing that he was feeling uncomfortable under Fornell's scrutinizing gaze.

Glaring at Fornell for his questioning look, he shook his head as to say ' _not now'_ and patiently helped Tony with the stairs.

Fornell stood there for another good minute, staring at Tony and Gibbs' back, wondering what the hell they'd gone through for Tony to look that bad and... _Jesus Christ_ , _was the younger man really blind? What a mess!_

Shaking his head, he decided to check on him later.

He might not show it outwardly, but he actually was very fond of Anthony DiNozzo and believed that he was one of the best agents and investigators out there.

.

Upstairs, Gibbs cursed himself for bringing Tony to that room; he wanted to get him away from Fornell's questioning look and unintentionally had brought him to a room full of agents who knew Tony and now were sending pitiful looks his way or were whispering quietly together.

Tony was sitting in a chair, bending forwards with his eyes closed and trying hard to pretend like he wasn't feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"There's a body and a crime scene downstairs; should I call another team? Or you guys are capable of doing something useful after all?" Gibbs barked, startling the three FBI agents who rushed downstairs to help their leader.

McGee walked to Tony and cleared his throat.

"What's it, Probie?" Tony asked tiredly without looking up or moving. He had started to feel cold and for the first time in his life, he was hoping for the paramedics to get there sooner.

"I just... Umm, sorry we didn't come sooner."

"I'm sure you came as soon as you could." He finally sat straight and after a few seconds, he turned his head slightly to the left, where Gibbs was sitting with his hand on his forearm, just a bit upper than where he'd been burned. The older man was clearly trying to make sure that he knew he was still there. "Boss," he swallowed. "I-"

Gibbs frowned at the look on Tony's face, "Hey, hey, hang on. Don't pass out, now." He urged. "The EMTs will be here any minute."

"I hate to... And DiNozzos don't... But I... I think I wi-" he wasn't able to finish his sentence as his eyes rolled back in his head and before Gibbs could even lay him on the ground his body started to convulse.

"Dammit," Gibbs cursed. "McGee, help me lay him down and then go check on that damn ambulance's ETA." He ordered, absently wondering what Ziva was doing if she hadn't gone to do so.

The seizure didn't last long; it stopped after twenty seconds or so, but it didn't mean that Gibbs wasn't worried to death, even though he didn't show much on the outside.

Soon after that, the paramedics were around them, checking on both Tony and Gibbs. Quickly, they got Tony strapped to a backboard, and then on the gurney, taking him to the waiting ambulance with Gibbs right behind him.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	9. Chapter 9

"Jethro?" Ducky appeared at the entrance of his ER cubicle, where the nurse was bandaging his now stitched wrists. "I came as soon as I could. Abigail is outside, too. Are you alright?"

"I'm good, Duck." Gibbs said, but there wasn't any trace of gratefulness in his tone; if anything, he sounded regretful. "The bastard didn't even touch me; he just went for Tony."

"Timothy told me about the man's grudge against you." Ducky stated sadly. "What happened to your wrists, then?"

"I had to cut them to get out of my chains." He didn't elaborate how that had helped him.

Ducky's eyes widened. "Oh my."

" _This_ is nothing." Gibbs sighed. "Duck, Tony was... It was bad... He received more blows to his head; they broke his nose and burned his arms." He almost flinched at the last part. "He convulsed before the medics arrived."

Ducky was looking aghast as he listened to his friend. _'Burned his arms?'_ That was horrifying. _'How much more could the younger man take?'_ He thought sadly.

"Duck?" Gibbs frowned.

"Anthony is strong." He quickly tried to school his feature.

"I've been hearing that phrase an awful lot in the last few days." Gibbs stood up from the bed when the nurse was done with dressing his wrists.

"Keep them dry." she instructed before walking out.

Gibbs grabbed his jacket and winced, if only slightly, when a sharp pain shot through his wrists and up his arm after bending his fingers; it made him think about Tony's arms and hands, wondering how the younger man would feel after being burned so badly.

Slowly, he walked out of the cubicle with Ducky. "What if the blindness becomes permanent?"

"That's highly unlikely." Ducky tried to reassure. "His optical nerves were unharmed; we just have to hope he doesn't slip into a coma."

"What are the chances?" Gibbs stopped in his way and turned to the ME. "For him to go back to a coma or end up blind?"

Ducky sighed ruefully. "Jethro, I haven't even seen Anthony, I don't know anything about his condition."

"I just told you what they did to him; what's your guess?"

"Medicine is not about guesses, Jethro." The older man chastised mildly. "It's about life and death; we cannot gamble and guess the odds and risk someone's life."

"You know what I mean." Gibbs almost whined in desperation; Ducky had a way of getting distracted in the most important situations.

"Indeed, I know." the ME nodded his head. "But that's exactly my point. I cannot guess since I haven't even seen the lad, but whatever his doctors say, you should remember that Anthony is a fighter. He's beaten the odds before and I'm quite sure he won't stop now."

Gibbs rubbed his temple and looked up at the ceiling.

"I assume you two have talked about the important stuff; am I right?"

Gibbs grunted. "We tried."

Ducky shook his head. "Ah, you two and your impaired ability of talking and opening up."

Gibbs was about to grumble when Ducky stopped him with a pointed look.

"Now, Jethro. You know I'm right. But if you've tried to apologize and show your support, even in your own unorthodox way, then I'm sure Anthony knows he's something to fight for."

"Well, yeah, but it's not just about his willingness," Gibbs' eyes darkened. "You didn't see him."

"Alright," Ducky finally relented, "I will not lie to you, another blow to the head is extremely risky and they might even have to perform a surgery to release the pressure in his head, but we cannot borrow trouble. Let's wait for the doctors to give us some more information and then we will find a way to help our boy."

Gibbs wasn't sure there was a way to help Tony if he needed surgery or if his blindness became permanent; he wasn't sure Tony even would _want_ him around, but he wasn't one to word his fears and uncertainties. So he remained quiet and just let Ducky usher him to the waiting area.

"Gibbs." Abby jumped from her seat where she was sitting beside Ziva and Tim. "Are you alright? Is Tony-"

Gibbs gave her a hug and instantly stopped her from babbling. "I'm good; Tony will be alright, too." He just hoped it didn't turn out to be a lie.

Nodding her head quietly, she understood that her silver-fox wasn't in the mood to listen to her ranting. She knew how worried Gibbs was and all the anger that she had felt towards him for hurting Tony, had vanished the instant that they both had gone missing. She silently sat back and anxiously grabbed McGee's upper arm in such a firm grip that Tim was sure it'd leave some bruises.

Finally some minutes later - _or maybe hours?!_ \- a nurse came to fetch Gibbs, as Tony's doctor wanted to inform him about his agent's condition. Ducky stood up and followed them, but the rest stayed seated, hoping to hear some news about their friend sooner rather than later.

..

"Agent Gibbs; Doctor Mallard." Turner greeted them as he walked out of Tony's ICU room. "He's stable, but unfortunately he has yet to wake up." He didn't waste any time on preambles or trivia as he knew how worried Tony's teammates were.

"Is he responsive at all?" Ducky asked worriedly.

"Yes, actually he is. The good news is that the level of brain injury hasn't increased. But not receiving the drugs for the swelling and receiving more blows to the head have led him to the seizure and his current condition."

"And shock, I assume."

"Yes, that too. He'd started to show the signs of stage three of shock when they first brought him in but we've managed to stop it and give him the help he needs. The burning to his arms are second degree burns; they don't need skin grafting, but it'll take some time for him to be able to regain full function of his hands, especially his left one. But there's no reason to believe his hands won't recover completely. There will be permanent scaring, though."

"His nose?" Gibbs asked, trying to avert his mind from Tony's arms and the scars that would always be there to mock him and remind him of his failure. He wasn't sure how Tony would react to having those scars; he couldn't hide them all the time and it was impossible not to see them since they were on his hands.

"That's the least of our worries. It wasn't displaced and is nicely fixed."

 _'Good, at least Tony doesn't need to worry about his face, too.'_ Gibbs thought despondently.

"He's resting, now. We'll monitor him closely and wait for him to wake up on his own to do some more tests."

Both Gibbs and Ducky nodded in response. "I'll stay with him." That wasn't a request.

"That's what I expected to hear." The doctor smiled. "There's a cot in his room for you. You need your rest, too. You've lost some blood and been through a lot yourself. Make sure you can stand on your feet when he wakes up. He's gonna need a lot more help now, since he can't even use his hands."

Gibbs nodded, but felt sick to his stomach.

Wasn't it bad enough that Tony couldn't see anything? Now he couldn't even use his hands? The younger man was going to feel really dejected. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he could kick himself for forgetting it. "What about his eyes? How long before he regains his sight?" He didn't dare say _if_ he regained his sight.

"Yes, about that. We're hopeful that now that he's back on his drugs, he'll regain his eyesight in the next three or four days, give or take. His vision might be blurry for a while but they'll clear up eventually."

"That will help him for sure." Ducky noted. "Let's hope he's reserved some of his stubbornness for a time like this. He's going to need it."

"Oh, he has, Duck." Gibbs smiled, remembering the strength that Tony had shown in that cell. "Believe me, he has."

...

Tony didn't wake up for a day and a half.

He slept through every visit from his friends; didn't stir when Ducky sat there and talked to him or when Gibbs ordered him to wake up and get well sooner.

He didn't show any signs of awareness even when Fornell showed up and talked about him with his boss.

The look of shock, disbelief and even anger on Fornell's face when Gibbs told him what had happened from the beginning, of course in his curt way and grumpy tone, was totally a Kodak moment and Gibbs would've taken a picture to show to Tony later if he had a camera at hand.

To Gibbs' surprise, Fornell had taken a swing at him and had openly said that if he didn't want _'DiNotso'_ on his team or couldn't appreciate him properly, he didn't need to kill the man or disable him. There were plenty of teams and agencies that would jump at the opportunity to have him with them.

He hadn't even waited for Gibbs to say anything back, because if he had, Gibbs would've ripped him a new one for even thinking about snatching Tony away from him.

Deep down, though, Gibbs knew that his old friend and rival was right about him not appreciating Tony properly and silently vowed to try to do better.

He felt relieved to know that Tony had so many people on his side. That was good; Tony needed as many allies as possible; even though the younger man was perfectly capable of defending and taking care of himself, he's been doing that for way too long and it was past the time he realized that he wasn't alone anymore; that there were people who were willing to do that for him and had his six, wanting him in their lives.

Only if they could make him see that, too! Or well, if they could bring _themselves_ to show it outwardly.

.

Finally, 34 hours after they were back to the hospital, Tony started to come around.

"About time." Gibbs growled lightly, a relieved smile on his face. "You've used your entire sleep quota of a year."

"Hmm?" Tony moaned uncomprehendingly.

Blinking his eyes a few times, he frowned when he didn't see anything but absolute darkness and a look of panic covered his face.

Gibbs saw that look and although his heart ached for the younger man, he immediately squeezed Tony's shoulder. "Hey, calm down. It's temporary. Remember? You'll be able to see in a couple of days." He reminded his young friend, knowing full well that he'd forgotten his current predicament.

Realization hit Tony just a second later as he remembered what had happened the last few days all at once. He tried to push himself up, but winced and sank back to the bed when the pain in his head and chest stopped him. "Gibbs?"

"No, Mother Teresa." Gibbs said sarcastically. "Who else?"

"Right. Umm... Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." Gibbs squeezed his shoulder one last time before stepping back and pushing the call button, waiting for the nurse and Tony's doctor to come and look him over.

Half an hour later, Turner finally announced that everything looked good for the moment and that they'd run a few more tests later and change the dressings on Tony's arms; but till then he could rest.

"Are you alright?" Tony asked as soon as he was alone with Gibbs.

"They didn't touch me, in case you've forgotten."

"No, but you hurt yourself pretty bad." He shifted in his bed carefully.

"I'm alright; just needed some stitches."

"Hmm. Good." Tony nodded and sighed.

Gibbs knew the meaning behind that sigh. "You heard the doctor, DiNozzo. You're going to be just fine."

"Yeah."

"Tony?"

"I can't see a damn thing; I can't use my hands. How am I gonna do anything? And only God knows when I can get back to work; _if_ I can get back to work."

"For Pete's sake." Gibbs growled. "Don't make me slap you."

Tony didn't say anything and closed his eyes.

"Liste-"

"I'm tired, Gibbs." Tony interrupted him. "I think I'll just get some rest."

"No. You'll first listen to me. Then you can do whatever you like." Gibbs ordered firmly. This couldn't wait. Tony would feel just worse if they didn't talk about that issue right then. "You wouldn't have been here if not for me. Everything that's happened to you is _my_ fault. All of your injuries. You think I'll leave to fend for yourself? Even if I weren't to blame, I wouldn't have left you and just walked away. You know me better than that."

"First of all, this isn't about me just needing a little help." Tony gritted his teeth. "Second of all, I'm _not_ your responsibility and this is not _your_ fault. Not really."

Gibbs sighed. "We both know it is. Literally this time. So drop the act, DiNozzo. You're stuck with me."

"So what? You're gonna _feed_ me? Take me to the _bathroom_? Change my clothes? Like I'm a freaking two year old kid?" Tony turned his head angrily towards the older man, wishing he could glare at him; but he couldn't do so since he couldn't tell where exactly his face was and he was pretty sure that glaring at someone's shoulder or the wall over his head would look ridiculous.

"Dammit, DiNozzo. YES." Gibbs answered sternly. "I will do _all_ those things if it's needed and _you_ will let me help. That doesn't make you a frickin' kid, you understand me? And don't worry, you're not _that_ off. You can take care of your business yourself." He added with a sigh. "This is the end of this discussion. Am I clear?"

Tony didn't answer; he just clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, trying hard not to roar at the older man and say something that he'd regret later.

Gibbs' tone softened as he asked the next question a few seconds later. "Wouldn't you do the same for me?"

Tony's look changed from anger to absolute tiredness and resignation.

"Answer me."

"I never slap you to cause any of this." He finally answered after calming himself down.

At first, Gibbs felt a cold shiver running down his spine, thinking that Tony was pushing him away and refusing his help just because he hated him and couldn't stand his presence, but before he could suggest someone else's help and leave the younger man alone, he saw the glint of mischief in Tony's unseeing eyes and a shadow of a grin at the corner of his mouth.

"Fair enough." He smiled as he felt relief rushed through his body, "Would you like to?"

"To slap you?" Tony asked tentatively. "O yeah; can I?" This time he grinned openly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You wouldn't wanna try that."

"Hmm," Tony contemplated about it. "Yeah, I like my hand the way it is." He then frowned, remembering his hand's condition. "Or do I?"

Gibbs grimaced and was glad that Tony couldn't see that, "Your hands will be fine. You'll have scars, though." He added quietly, not sure how Tony would react.

Tony tried to move his fingers carefully, "Hmm, well, I'll get upset about that later. Right now I'm just happy I'll be able to use them again." He said that, but he didn't sound exactly overjoyed.

Gibbs was quiet for a few seconds, trying to choose his next words carefully. Even after everything, he still felt the need to ask an important question, even though he was dreading the answer. "You have every right to resent me or wanting me as far away as possible, so if this is why you don't wanna-"

"Gibbs, stop." Tony interjected. "It was a mistake and unlike what everyone thinks, I don't keep you on a pedestal; you know that. _Every_ one makes mistakes and like it or not, you're not an exception."

Gibbs felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders; he nodded and then curtly said. "Am nodding."

Tony froze and then suddenly burst into laughter. "How long before I get my eyesight back, again?" He asked; _'damn, even laughing hurt_.' "Because this is kinda fun, you explaining what you're doing so it won't go to waste. That's the worst punishment for you."

Gibbs smirked and shook his head. "Shut it." The younger man didn't know that seeing him in that condition and looking into his _unseeing eyes_ were the worst punishments for Gibbs.

"Whatever." Tony chuckled and closed his eyes.

**.**

**.**

**... TBC ...**


	10. Epilogue

True to the doctor's words, Tony'd regained his eyesight after three days.

The good thing was that he'd spent the first few days in the hospital, so he didn't have much trouble doing things without his sight and when one day he woke up and the light coming from the window greeted him instead of the usual darkness, he couldn't help but turn his head towards the light and stare out the window with amazement. Fortunately a nurse had been there with him and saw his reaction to the light. She'd quickly closed the blinds so the light wouldn't hurt his eyes.

The doctor had stopped by shortly after that to check his eyes and congratulated him for regaining his sight; he'd told him that he would get out of there soon, but what Tony couldn't wait for was seeing his friends and watch them for a reaction to the news.

Gibbs' reaction was a sight for sore eyes. Literally!

Gibbs was looking terrible and that was the first thing that Tony mentioned when his boss walked into his room with a cup of coffee.

It was only a few minutes after he'd woken up with his eyesight back and it hurt to keep his eyes open but the pain was worth it when Tony looked at his boss and saw his eyes widened with realization and a wide smile spread across his face. The older man just stood there for a couple of minutes and looked Tony in the eyes; showing him how happy he was to see those green eyes looking back at him.

The team had been thrilled when they found out that Tony could actually see them again, and even though things were too blurry and it was giving him the mother of all headaches, Tony would keep his eyes open as long as he could.

Now, it'd been two weeks since Tony'd woken up the second time in the hospital and he was finally back to his apartment. His vision was becoming less and less blurry every day and it was almost back to normal now.

His only problem was with his hands and although he could use his right one fairly well to meet his needs, it was still hard to hold a fork or knife; let alone chopsticks. So he kept eating either pizza or soup which was getting old too fast.

Everyone knew that he wouldn't accept help eating, so they respected his wish and didn't even try to spoon feed him.

Gibbs had once, _very briefly_ , thought about cooking Tony a steak and cutting it into small pieces so the younger man could eat it easily. But the memory of burned flesh had stopped him immediately. He had inhaled deeply a few times just to get rid of the too vivid smell that was etched like a tattoo into his brain and gulped forcefully to push the bile down that had risen in his throat. He really doubted he could ever eat steak again.

Eating was the least of Tony's problems, though.

Taking a shower was a nightmare for him. He wasn't allowed to unwrap the bandages and bathing with both his hands covered to elbow was annoying _and_ unnerving, and that was why he had just taken quick showers since he'd left the hospital and hadn't shaved more than once.

He'd refused everyone's help, even Abby's; deciding that waiting to be able to shave his own face himself was way better than sitting there letting someone else do it for him. The only time that he'd allowed someone to help him with that was when he was still staying at Gibbs' place after getting out of the hospital and his boss just wouldn't take ' _No_ ' for an answer. The whole thing had been so awkward that he threatened Gibbs with going back to his own place if he didn't leave him alone.

So, with Gibbs accepting his conditions, he'd no choice but to stay with the older man for a whole week.

Not that he was up to doing things all by his own and both he and Gibbs knew that very well; so even when he was finally given the permission to go back to his own apartment, Gibbs had gone with him. The ex-marine wouldn't stay with him every night, but he was there more often than not.

Tony'd been told that things were slow at the Yard, but later Abby told him that Vance was punishing Gibbs and wouldn't give them anything but cold cases to review; or at least it meant to be a punishment, because everybody could see that Gibbs was grateful instead of annoyed. The only things that Gibbs didn't like at all, was the fact that Vance had forced him to attend an Anger Management class and had told him he'd need a psych evaluation before getting back to the field.

Tony found it quite funny, but necessary nevertheless. He gave Vance an imaginary thumbs up for his courage; because it was clear that Gibbs was having a hard time keeping his anger at check recently and it was past the time that someone did something about it; and since his last effort had almost cost him his eyesight, he wasn't too eager to try it again any time soon. So, Vance was the only other option, and unlike him, Vance had the power and apparently the latest incident had opened his eyes, making him force the Lead Agent to do something about his anger or leave the Navy Yard for good.

All in all, it was a good thing that the team was off-rotation; it was giving both Tony and Gibbs some much needed time; one needed it to recover, the other to regain his equilibrium

.

That day, Tony was sitting on his couch, watching the news on TV and cherishing every moment of being able to see the events when he heard a knock on the door. Rising to his feet, he was about to greet his boss when he pulled the door open, but found Abby, Ziva and Tim on the other side of the door. With two large Pizzas for dinner.

"We brought Pizza." Abby announced excitedly as Tony moved aside to let them in.

"It's not _that_ exciting, Abby." McGee rolled his eyes.

"Tony _loves_ Pizza." She argued.

"Tony has been eating Pizza for three weeks now. Even _he_ must get tired. Is that not true, Tony?" Ziva looked at Tony who had once again sat on the couch, eyeing them with amusement.

"I admit, I'd kill for something different, but nobody's allowed to get tired of Pizza, Ziva." He rebuked. "Never. It's a rule."

Rolling her eyes, she sat on the smaller couch and opened a Pizza box, while Abby opened a soda for Tony and beers for themselves.

"I'm not taking any pain meds, Abs." Tony grabbed her beer from her hand and took a sip.

"What?" She frowned. "But you should. Gibbs will kill you if-"

"Gibbs knows and I'm not five; _I_ make decisions for myself." He sounded a bit annoyed, but pushed it down.

The other three exchanged meaningful looks with each other, but said nothing in return.

"I'm not blind anymore, either, you know." Tony said nonchalantly, his eyes still on the TV screen.

"And we're _so_ happy for that." Abby who was sitting right beside Tony gave him a semi-hug. "It's just that... Well-"

Tony finally grabbed the remote control and turned the TV off. "Abs?" He looked at her, waiting for more than a broken sentence.

"We need to talk about something." Ziva jumped in.

"Actually, there's something we need to tell you."

Tony leaned back; Pizza forgotten for the moment. "Let me guess, you're getting married and Ziva is your best man?" He addressed Tim and Abby. "You've got my blessings."

"I am not a man, why would I want to be anyone's best man?"

"Hey! _I_ was Jimmy's best-man." Abby complained.

"Guys." McGee stopped them.

"Right." Abby looked sheepish. "Umm... Look, we wanted to apologize, Tony."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Ookay..." He narrowed his eyes. "Now, what did you do and what's the damage?"

"The damage to what?" Ziva asked, frustrated that Tony wouldn't let them just talk. "We did not do anything to your possessions. You are not having any sense."

Tony was about to correct Ziva, but decided against it when McGee murmured the word ' _make_ ' and Ziva glared at him. "Then what the hell are you apologizing for?" He asked instead.

"For the way we acted." Tim fidgeted in his seat.

"When?" The older man look genuinely confused as he looked between the three of them.

"Before,... You know... This." Tim waved his hands, and when the look of confusion didn't disappear from Tony's face, he sighed. "Gibbs was unbearable and always angry and it was mostly towards you; we shouldn't have made it harder. We were just tired."

"And we shouldn't have accused you. Never meant it that way." Abby continued. "It's just that you can always fix things and deflate Gibbs' anger and he never stays mad for so long and when you didn't or couldn't do anything this time... We just... Well, no, there are no excuses for what we did. I'm sorry." Abby looked Tony in the eyes.

Tony for his part was back to looking amused. "Right. That." He shook his head and grabbed his slice of pizza. "No worries. It's nothing new."

Ziva frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?" ... "And that's supposed to make us feel better?" Tim asked at the same time.

Tony grinned widely at that. "Guys, it's OK. I know you were tired, I was too. I just want you to know that I'm not immune to Gibbs' moods. At least not as much as I used to be. I get frustrated too and as long as we don't hurt each other with our words, we can bounce back and sort things out."

"But we did hurt you." Abby sighed.

Tony shrugged. "Well, that's in the past. A lot has happened since then."

Abby wasn't convinced yet. "I love you, Tony. You're my best friend. I never meant to imply that you-"

Tony put his left arm around her, hiding the wince of pain when his fingers curled around her shoulder. "Thanks, Abs, but we gotta move on. Thank you for understanding me and explaining things."

Tim smiled gratefully and nodded his own thanks, knowing that Tony could read his eyes.

Ziva looked a bit skeptical, but finally nodded and said. "We are sorry."

"Apology accepted." Tony smiled.

Abby opened her mouth to say something when a key turned in the lock and Gibbs walked in with a pocket in his hand.

He studied his team for a second before turning his gaze to Tony. "Having a party, DiNozzo?" The concern was clear in his eyes. He'd felt the tension in the room the second he'd walked in and could say that something had been going on between his people.

Tony smiled and shook his head slightly, conveying that things were alright; glad that he was once again able to read the older man's expression and see what was happening in his head just by looking him in the eyes. "Not without you, Boss."

"Soup." Gibbs announced curtly as he put the pocket in front of Tony and grabbed a slice of Pizza for himself before walking to the kitchen for a beer.

"Should we call Ducky and Palmer, too?" Abby bounced in her place. "We could call for more Pizzas if it's not enough. We have so many reasons to celebrate."

Ziva and McGee looked a little uncomfortable at hearing that idea; they were clearly still fazed by whatever had happened between them before Gibbs' arrival, and Tony looked spent and even in pain; so Gibbs decided to talk Abby out of it. "Another night, Abby." He said as he sat on the couch next to Tony.

"But-"

"I think the boss is right." McGee chimed in, "I mean, look at Tony, he looks dead on his feet."

"He is not on his _feet_." Ziva asserted Tony carefully, "But if that means he is very tired, then I agree with you; he looks dead on his feet."

" _He_ is in the room and very well-rested and content; thank you very much." Tony protested loudly.

Gibbs snorted at that.

"That's rude, Boss."

Instinctively, Gibbs raised his hand to slap Tony over the head, but stopped mid-action when Tony ducked and everyone else yelled in unison. "NO."

**.**

**.**

**... The END ...**


End file.
